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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “multi db”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “multi db”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 3 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

DB Sync for Microsoft Excel shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Form Vibes – Save Contact Form 7 & Elementor Form Entries to Database places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 132 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Webheadcoder Multi-Step Forms for Contact Form 7 50K+ · 4.2★ (49) wp.org #1 2 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 Tablesome Table – Contact Form DB – WPForms, CF7, Gravity, Forminator, Fluent 7K+ · 4.8★ (89) wp.org #3 4 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Contact Form to DB by BestWebSoft – Messages Database Plugin For WordPress 1K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 ReviewX – Multi-Criteria Reviews for WooCommerce with Google Reviews & Schema 6K+ · 4.5★ (85) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Form Vibes – Save Contact Form 7 & Elementor Form Entries to Database 10K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 Contact Form by BestWebSoft – Advanced WP Contact Form Builder for WordPress 30K+ · 4.0★ (292) wp.org #12 ↑3 4 too low 9 affiliate-toolkit – Multi-Network Affiliate & Amazon Product Display 2K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Backup and Staging by WP Time Capsule 10K+ · 4.0★ (128) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #8 ↑4 3 too high 12 Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions 60K+ · 4.7★ (181) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 InfiniteWP Client 200K+ · 4.4★ (177) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #15 ↓5 1 too low 15 Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too low 16 Mail logging & Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Opti-Behavior – Self-Hosted Heatmaps, Funnels, A/B Testing & Smart Insights 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 cformsII 3K+ · 4.3★ (21) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Extensions For CF7 (Contact form 7 Database, Conditional Fields and Redirection) 5K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #21 ↑2 2 too low 20 Database for Contact Form 7 7K+ · 4.2★ (14) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 DB-Views: Dashboards, Data Tables and Webforms 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 DB Sync for Microsoft Excel 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 Track Orders for WooCommerce – Multi Carrier WooCommerce Shipping 200+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 File Manager, Code Editor, and Backup by Managefy 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.